Camper: Someone that continuously picks up the only good weapon/item in a map. This can obviously only occur in games that start every player off with the same basic, awful weapon every match.
Well, I know I'm a little late to the party, but I've watched the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare a couple times now, and I'd like to share my thoughts on the matter.
Anyone that knows me, knows that I am the ultimate COD cynic. The original Call of Duty was one of the best games I ever played on the PC. It had an exciting (and sizable) campaign, and focused on some of the most important battles during World War 2. The campaign was longer than four hours. The weapons were authentic and there was a certain level of realism to the whole thing. Now, COD seems to have strayed so far from its foundation that I barely recognize it these days. I feel like its the rich uncle of shooters. The uncle that brings a somewhat hastily bought gift to each of his nephews every year, and doesn't seem to care about their reactions because, well, he's rich either way.
With the Call of Duty franchise, its not even the perceived lack of innovation that bothers me, although I've seen the "each sequel is a glorified map pack" statement more times than I can count. Its the flagrant disregard for anything resembling balance or what I consider to be solid gameplay design choices. I consider a game-ending nuke to be one of the worst "features" ever to be added to a game. The multiplayer design is centered on ridiculous weapon balance and killstreaks that allow someone to essentially bitch slap an entire team. And I know that it is designed that way intentionally, and I know that there are some really good COD players out there. But the multiplayer of the last several installments are designed to, quite frankly, appeal to the fast-food, instant gratification, least common denominator members of the gaming community. Are you a terrible player? That's OK. Just spray bullets (or fire off rockets like an ass-hat) and you'll get kills. Even if you're incapable of that, just dive through a window five times or run a specified distance and you'll get experience points. Maps are often so small that players begin a match by chucking a random grenade, and will frequently earn kills this way. Anyone attempting to utilize tactics of any sort are berated and accused of "camping." To put it succinctly, COD doesn't sell because it is a good game, it sells because it is easy to be good at the game.
Hey, don't get me wrong. I really enjoyed Black Ops 2. It tried new things. I think the ten slot kit system and the score streaks were large steps in the right direction. But COD has become TOO accessible, if that's possible. I don't want to sound like an elitist, but I feel like I have to be to a certain degree, because every shooter stands in COD's shadow these days, and that shouldn't be happening. People should NOT be dismissing other shooters as garbage simply because they don't allow the players to have a kill-death of 33-4 every match.
As negative as all of that was, there are still elements of COD that I really enjoy. I think the perk/killstreak system is awesome, when its properly balanced. I like the fast paced gunplay and the objective based game modes. With a new studio and a seemingly new approach, I'm hoping Advanced Warfare will really shake things up.
From what I've gathered from the trailer, the game will focus on PMC's (Private Military Corporations) in the future. It will contain thermal mapping technology, exo-skeletal suits, deployable cover, remote drones, and gloves that allow for wall climbing. And, it will contain the not insubstantial acting prowess of Kevin Spacey. Sounds good to me, as long as Sledgehammer Games takes advantage of the full potential of all of these features. I want to be able to use the exoskeletons in multiplayer. I want them to be tied directly to my abilities, and I want to be able to use those abilities dynamically instead of only being able to use them for brief scripted moments in the campaign. That wall climbing tech should be fully functional in multiplayer, to give snipers and scouts a better vantage point. However, they would theoretically be easily countered by someone wearing an exoskeleton that is leaping from rooftop to rooftop. And the deployable cover, if implemented properly, could modify how each multiplayer match plays out to no small degree. The campaign will hopefully be an intense examination of both the advantages and the dangers of privatizing the military. However, none of these things will address the core issues with the COD experience. Here's a list...
*Host advantages in multiplayer matches
*Absurdly short campaigns
*Killstreaks that allow someone to control the outcome of a battle by themself
*Shoebox sized maps
*An unhealthy focus on k/d ratios that destroys objective/team play
If Sledgehammer can address the issues above, I will come back to the COD franchise with open arms, because in my heart of hearts, I really want to. In a few months we'll find out if I'll be reigniting my spark of passion, or if I'll be losing this one's phone number for good.
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